TOMS RIVER – Two women have each pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty for hoarding more than 170 dogs and cats in vile conditions at their Brick home, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
When the pair are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 16, the Prosecutor’s Office plans to ask state Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan, to sentence them to 364 days in the Ocean County Jail, and impose a lifetime order that they never own or work with animals again.
In court appearances on Monday and Tuesday, Michele Nycz, 60, and Aimee Lonczak, 51, each pleaded guilty before Ryan to the charges. Lonczak also pleaded guilty to child neglect, as her 16-year-old daughter was also living in the house in “filth and squalor” and ridiculed at school because “she reeked of urine and feces.”
On Dec. 2, 2022, Brick Police were called to the women’s Arrowhead Park Drive home in response to an anonymous tip that the residents there were operating a puppy mill.
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While speaking with Lonczak and Nycz in their driveway, the responding officers could smell a strong odor coming from the house and hear barking inside.
The officers were allowed to enter the residence, where the stench was overwhelming and unsanitary conditions abounded. Animal crates with dogs and cats inside them were stacked on top of one another.
Due to the unbearable nature of the conditions inside, the officers retreated from the home and requested a hazmat team. Rescuers in specialized gear removed 129 dogs and 43 cats, as well as the remains of two dead dogs.
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Lonczak and Nycz were arrested at the scene, taken to the county jail and later released pending prosecution in the matter.
Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni supervised the case on behalf of the state of New Jersey. In addition to Brick Police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office participated in the investigation.
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Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brick NJ women plead guilty to hoarding more than 170 dogs and cats
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